October 10, 2008
CONNELL, SACOBIE SET TO BECOME FIRST 10,000-YARD PASSERS IN CIS HISTORY
OTTAWA, Ont. - No quarterback in the history of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football has ever passed for 10,000 yards over his career. By the end of the afternoon on Saturday, the elusive club could include two members.
McGill senior Matt Connell of St. Bruno, Que., enters the weekend in second place on the all-time CIS list with 9,675 yards through the air, while fellow fifth-year veteran Josh Sacobie of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, a native of Fredericton, N.B., is ranked third with 9,561 career yards.
Former McMaster great Ben Chapdelaine, the 2001 Hec Crighton Trophy winner as CIS player of the year, set the national record of 9,974 passing yards from 1997 to 2001.
McGill (0-5), in search of its first win of the season, visits StFX (2-3) in Antigonish, N.S., at 2 p.m. Atlantic. Ottawa (3-3) faces No. 2-ranked Queen's (6-0) in Kingston, Ont., at 1 p.m. ET (The Score).
Should he put up his usual aerial numbers against the X-Men, Connell would not only break Chapdelaine's record, he would become the first member of the 10,000-yard club.
The 6-foot, 225-pound pivot has thrown for 1,675 yards in five games so far this season for a CIS-leading average of 335 yards per outing. A 325-yard performance on Saturday would give him 10,000 yards for his career. Needing exactly 300 yards to pass Chapdelaine, Connell has reached the 300-yard plateau 15 times as a member of the Redmen.
StFX, however, boasts a solid pass defence. The X-Men rank ninth in the nation allowing 209 passing yards a game.
Connell, who is already the CIS career leader for passing attempts (1,259) and completions (750), has a single-game personal best of 557 yards, a mark he set against Concordia last year.
Sacobie ranks fourth in CIS this fall with an average of 308 passing yards per outing for a total of 1,847 in six contents. He set his personal-best of 421 yards against Toronto in 2006.
On Saturday, he will face a Queen's defensive unit that has allowed an average of 229 yards through the air so far in 2008, good for 14th place in the country.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gee-Gees quarterback is also chasing the CIS career mark of 87 touchdown passes set by three-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's from 1987 to 1990. Sacobie is second on the all-time list with 78.
CIS FOOTBALL CAREER PASSING YARDS (regular season only)
Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster, 1997-2001
2001: 2,207 (8 GP)
2000: 2,207 (8 GP)
1999: 1,960 (7 GP)
1998: 2,428 (8 GP)
1997: 1,172 (8 GP)
Total: 9,974 (39 GP – 256 yds/g)
Matt Connell, McGill, 2003-current *
2008: 1,675 (5 GP)
2007: 2,533 (8 GP)
2006: 2,146 (7 GP)
2005: 1,487 (5 GP)
2004: 1,792 (8 GP)
2003: 42 (1 GP)
Total: 9,675 (34 GP – 285 yds/g)
*Connell only dressed for 1 game in 2003 (3-3, 42 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT) which did not count towards his eligibility, as per CIS regulations (minimum 2 games).
Josh Sacobie, Ottawa, 2004-current
2008: 1,847 (6 GP)
2007: 2,320 (8 GP)
2006: 1,860 (7 GP)
2005: 2,094 (8 GP)
2004: 1,440 (7 GP)
Total: 9,561 (36 GP – 266 yds/g)
Source: CIS Communications
Photo credit: Joël Côté-Cright
McGill senior Matt Connell of St. Bruno, Que., enters the weekend in second place on the all-time CIS list with 9,675 yards through the air, while fellow fifth-year veteran Josh Sacobie of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, a native of Fredericton, N.B., is ranked third with 9,561 career yards.
Former McMaster great Ben Chapdelaine, the 2001 Hec Crighton Trophy winner as CIS player of the year, set the national record of 9,974 passing yards from 1997 to 2001.
McGill (0-5), in search of its first win of the season, visits StFX (2-3) in Antigonish, N.S., at 2 p.m. Atlantic. Ottawa (3-3) faces No. 2-ranked Queen's (6-0) in Kingston, Ont., at 1 p.m. ET (The Score).
Should he put up his usual aerial numbers against the X-Men, Connell would not only break Chapdelaine's record, he would become the first member of the 10,000-yard club.
The 6-foot, 225-pound pivot has thrown for 1,675 yards in five games so far this season for a CIS-leading average of 335 yards per outing. A 325-yard performance on Saturday would give him 10,000 yards for his career. Needing exactly 300 yards to pass Chapdelaine, Connell has reached the 300-yard plateau 15 times as a member of the Redmen.
StFX, however, boasts a solid pass defence. The X-Men rank ninth in the nation allowing 209 passing yards a game.
Connell, who is already the CIS career leader for passing attempts (1,259) and completions (750), has a single-game personal best of 557 yards, a mark he set against Concordia last year.
Sacobie ranks fourth in CIS this fall with an average of 308 passing yards per outing for a total of 1,847 in six contents. He set his personal-best of 421 yards against Toronto in 2006.
On Saturday, he will face a Queen's defensive unit that has allowed an average of 229 yards through the air so far in 2008, good for 14th place in the country.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gee-Gees quarterback is also chasing the CIS career mark of 87 touchdown passes set by three-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner Chris Flynn of Saint Mary's from 1987 to 1990. Sacobie is second on the all-time list with 78.
CIS FOOTBALL CAREER PASSING YARDS (regular season only)
Ben Chapdelaine, McMaster, 1997-2001
2001: 2,207 (8 GP)
2000: 2,207 (8 GP)
1999: 1,960 (7 GP)
1998: 2,428 (8 GP)
1997: 1,172 (8 GP)
Total: 9,974 (39 GP – 256 yds/g)
Matt Connell, McGill, 2003-current *
2008: 1,675 (5 GP)
2007: 2,533 (8 GP)
2006: 2,146 (7 GP)
2005: 1,487 (5 GP)
2004: 1,792 (8 GP)
2003: 42 (1 GP)
Total: 9,675 (34 GP – 285 yds/g)
*Connell only dressed for 1 game in 2003 (3-3, 42 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT) which did not count towards his eligibility, as per CIS regulations (minimum 2 games).
Josh Sacobie, Ottawa, 2004-current
2008: 1,847 (6 GP)
2007: 2,320 (8 GP)
2006: 1,860 (7 GP)
2005: 2,094 (8 GP)
2004: 1,440 (7 GP)
Total: 9,561 (36 GP – 266 yds/g)
Source: CIS Communications
Photo credit: Joël Côté-Cright
